Makoto Iizuka is one of the few staff members who was there when Stride was founded. His job is to create “the public face” of the brand—from designing stores that convey the brand’s unique worldview to crafting website designs that maintain a sense of cohesion even across different brands. We asked him about his daily work focused on “amplifying a brand’s appeal through design.”
Text by Toshiaki Ito
Photos by Shinichi Yajima
From store design to the headquarters move
Although Iizuka officially joined Stride in 2021, his connection with the company dates back even further. He first worked with Stride in 2016, when CEO Takashi Fukuchi launched the company and opened its first store in Tama. This year, 2026, marks Stride’s 10th anniversary.Iizuka is one of the few long-time employees who has been with the company for the past 10 years.
In his previous job, he worked as a director at a design firm. When Stride launched its retail store (now the Tama store) as a new venture, they first commissioned him to design the logo, business cards, shop cards, and the store’s interior.
“At the time, I was at a small company that started with just three people—a designer, a programmer, and me—and I was serving as the production director. I told them that our company focused on graphic and web design and didn’t do store design, but they said, ‘You can do it, right?’ Anyway, the budget was tight, and I gave in to the president’s persistence.”
Although store design was uncharted territory for me, the process of listening to the client’s requests and figuring out how to make them a reality was no different from the work I’d been doing up to that point. After consulting with the designer, we decided, “This sounds interesting—let’s give it a try,” and took on the project. It was my first time, but since the space was small and the product lineup was still limited, we were able to create exactly what we had envisioned.
“They wanted to install a treadmill and a large monitor, and stock about 300 pairs of shoes, but there wasn’t any space to create a backroom. Fortunately, since they were carrying only one brand—ALTRA—I figured that if we arranged the shoe boxes neatly, we could display them as-is and still make them look great.We ended up mounting MDF panels on the walls, drilling holes to insert rods, and placing the shoes on top of them. That’s where the style of displaying shoes on rods began.”
Since then, whenever there was an opportunity to create something, they would reach out to me. Starting with my main line of work—web design—I also took on projects such as catalogs and in-store brochures, and following the Tama branch, I was commissioned to handle the interior design for the Fukuoka and Nagoya branches as well.
It’s common for a growing company to eventually ask, “Why don’t you join us?” after working with them regularly, but looking back from when I first started, I’d been involved as an external contractor for about five years. That’s certainly enough time to get a good sense of how each of us works.
My current work covers everything that requires design and production—from web design to print materials like catalogs and brochures, as well as booth construction for trade shows.
The store interior design that originally brought me to Stride is now handled by external architects. Until very recently, I not only handled the actual design and production but also took on many of the associated minor tasks.
Our work on the opening of the Stride Lab Tokyo Main Store is a prime example.
When the Tokyo Main Store opened in 2024, the headquarters functions—which had previously been located in Tama—were also relocated. During a relocation like this, you’re forced to make various arrangements and decisions at each stage: the layout of the store space, selecting and purchasing necessary fixtures and equipment, determining the use of each floor, deciding how many desks to get and how to arrange them, and setting up the internet infrastructure.
“Back then, we didn’t even have a General Affairs Department, so it was a case of whoever could do it just stepped up. At the time, I was the one who could handle those tasks the best. It’s true that I used to handle store design as well. I’d plan the layout, purchase fixtures, draw up blueprints, and instruct contractors, ‘Please build it like this.’ But now, we outsource that work.As our team has grown, I’ve been gradually handing over the tasks I used to handle myself.”
It took time, but we’re finally establishing a system that allows us to focus on the work we’re truly meant to do.
“It’s about time to move on to the next stage—to reduce the time spent on production and focus on the things I haven’t been able to do until now.”
Shaping the Future of Stride
Product information, such as catalogs, is needed when new models are announced each season.
“Catalogs aren’t so much something you ‘create’ as something you continuously update. Depending on the brand, it’s necessary to base the catalog on the one from the home country and then remove models not sold in Japan or swap out colors—but now, brand representatives are increasingly able to do this themselves.There’s a growing variety of software available, and AI is playing a major role these days.”
It’s not just websites and printed materials—store designs are evolving as well. Last April, the Tokyo flagship store was renovated.
Store design is inherently constrained by the layout of the physical space, but using coordinated fixtures can enhance a sense of unity. While we’ve relied on off-the-shelf products in the past, we now plan to custom-build fixtures tailored to each location to more clearly convey the “Stride essence.”
“Up until now, we’ve mainly used off-the-shelf fixtures. However, items we liked ended up being discontinued, or while they were excellent in terms of functionality and cost, the design left something to be desired. On the other hand, since we always hire the same contractor for interior work, we thought, ‘Why not just have them build everything for us?’We called it ‘modularization.’ We designed a specific ‘Stride shoe rack’ and have been working to have them custom-made in the same style to fit the layout of each property. While aiming to streamline store setup, I believe we’ve developed a concept for ‘the Stride of the future’—one that goes beyond the Stride of the past.”
As Iizuka himself mentioned, it seems the company has moved on to the next stage. He has gradually let go of the tasks he had been handling out of necessity—such as catalogs, the website, new stores, and event displays—and has begun to take a step back to get a broader view of the company’s situation.
“The company has grown in size, and the number of brands we handle has increased.As we aim to grow even further, there are still many things that should be in place but aren’t yet. I feel like I’ve always been expected to drive those efforts forward.”
When asked what he’d like to do, he paused to choose his words carefully, as if asking himself, “What do I want to do…? Hmm.” I could sense a strong determination behind his calm response.
“If I’m being honest, I’d like to review everything we put out to the public myself. Whether it’s for Stride or the brand, if we’re releasing something officially, we should prepare properly designed materials, and I’d like our team to operate that way.”
The importance of image and expression for companies and brands goes without saying. Now that Iizuka has gained more freedom, I wonder what kind of messages he’ll be putting out there. Stride’s future looks set to get even more interesting.
Profile
Makoto Iizuka
A native of Gunma Prefecture. Rather than taking over the family business, he decided to “turn his passion into a career” and went back to school, building his career as a production director at a design firm. While simple, clean work that strips away the unnecessary is the classic path for a designer, he also admires “additive” design—such as covering a computer with stickers. He rides a road bike in the summer and skis in the winter.
